MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has vowed to proceed
with his party’s anti-government demonstrations despite threats of a ruthless
crackdown from President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government.
Chamisa’s party secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora,
however, said the party has no appetite to remove Mnangagwa from power, but
wants “key national questions” resolved.
“We do have plans to demonstrate and the aim is to force
authorities to address key national questions, including governance, legitimacy
and devolution. Like all other previous demonstrations we have held in the
past, these will be peaceful and the party leadership will go out of its way to
make sure of that and exercise restraint,” Mwonzora said yesterday.
“It has never been our intention to depose anyone from
power.”
MDC Alliance organising secretary Amos Chibaya said the
date for the demonstration will be announced this week. “The demonstrations
will be this month. We have a right and the Constitution gives us that right,”
Chibaya said.
On Tuesday, Home Affairs minister Cain Mathema claimed
government was aware that the opposition was plotting to unseat Mnangagwa.
“The government is fully aware that some elements want to
register their displeasure on the recently announced economic austerity
measures and whip up public emotion to aid their selfish political expediency,”
Mathema said.
He warned that government would use force to break up any
“illegal demonstrations.”
While Mwonzora claimed Chamisa has never agitated for
Mnangagwa’s removal, the youthful MDC Alliance leader has in the past few weeks
been telling his supporters to prepare for a showdown with government.
“We are planning to have the people’s vote respected. We
won the election on the ground and it was stolen, but the economy’s performance
is testimony to what happened.
“You must ride on top of those trucks bringing flour into
the country. You must find ways to get to Harare when we give the signal,” Chamisa
told supporters in the border town of Beitbridge last weekend.
The MDC Alliance denied it was planning an insurgency and
instead accused the national broadcaster ZBC of spreading hate speech.
“As a matter of fact, the MDC is not and will not plan any
insurgence, but will continue to encourage Zimbabweans to exercise the right to
demonstrate peacefully in line with section 59 of the Constitution,” the party
statement said.
Meanwhile, Chamisa will this weekend hold “thank you”
rallies in Mashonaland East province.
“Basically, we are holding rallies to thank the people who
voted for our president. We got victory against all the odds in as far as the
presidential vote is concerned,” party spokesperson Jacob Mafume said.
“We are thanking them and explaining the efforts that we
are making to get back the vote. We are asking what they want us to do going
forward after we have been to the courts and engaged the international
community. What we are doing now is to seek a mandate for peaceful demonstrations.
So far the people want us to claim our victory in the streets and in the next
two weeks, we should be done with the consultations.” Newsday
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